[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 144 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H9386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BUILDING MOMENTUM

  (Mr. DELAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, since the first days after 9-11, President 
Bush has made two points very clear in his vision for American 
security: first, that the top priority of his administration is to 
defend our Nation and free nations everywhere by declaring and winning 
a war against global terror; and, second, that this war on terror is 
unlike any conflict in history, fought simultaneously on economic, 
military, and diplomatic fronts around the world.
  In the last 2 weeks, good news has emerged in several of these 
sectors. First of all, American businesses created 57,000 jobs last 
month, strengthening our economy and putting paychecks back into our 
people's hands. Our national security is dependent on the creation of 
even more jobs and economic growth so that we can afford to meet the 
ever-changing challenges on the war on terror. That is why President 
Bush's tax relief has proven so vital and why proposals to raise new 
taxes are so dangerous.
  Even as the economy rebounds here at home, we have got to keep 
military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on terrorists around the 
world.
  So this week, after 2 weeks of hearings, the House will take up the 
President's supplemental war budget to pay for our ongoing military and 
democracy-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are also 
committed to keeping up the diplomatic pressure on states that harbor 
and assist the terrorists themselves.
  Toward that end, today the House will also take up the Syria 
Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act. This bill, 
which is cosponsored by 260 Members, identifies Syria's continued 
actions assisting international terrorism and lays out potential 
sanctions against Syria for such activity.
  All three of these items, Mr. Speaker, the growing economic recovery, 
the supplemental war budget, and the Syrian accountability bill, are 
interrelated and, as they move forward, will continue to build 
America's momentum in the war on terror. That momentum will continue to 
forge prosperity and security for the American people and, in turn, 
create peace around the world.

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